Sony a1 vs Nikon Z9
When it comes to the best mirrorless cameras on the market, the Sony a1 and the Nikon Z9 are neck-and-neck. A little way behind—but not too far!—are the Canon EOS R3, R5 and R5C. So which one’s the best?
Everything’s a Trade-off
I have a couple of Sony a1 mirrorless cameras. I bought them last year, and I’ve very happy with them. I used to have a Nikon D810 and D850, but I figured the time had come to go mirrorless. I was off to Canada to the polar bear migration and Antarctica for the marine life, and I wanted to get a new camera and lenses beforehand. I’d been reading so many articles and watching so many videos about the benefits of a mirrorless system, that I just couldn’t resist…!
When I bought my first a1, the Nikon Z9 hadn’t yet come out. That was a bit frustrating as I had so much Nikon kit that I wanted to keep. The only other options came from Canon, but the reason I didn’t go down that road is I would’ve had to trade off sensor resolution, frame rate and video performance. If you want a Canon mirrorless model, that’s the choice you have to make: the R3 gives you the highest frame rate, the R5 gives you the highest resolution and the R5 C gives you unlimited video recording. None of them gives you all three—as the a1 does…
Canon EOS R3
Sensor: 24MP full-frame stacked CMOS sensor
Raw frame rate: 30 fps
ISO 100 - 102400 (expands to 50 - 204800)
Eye tracking: Yes (human, animal, bird and vehicle)
Video: 6K - 6000 x 3164 video resolution
Battery life: 760 shots
Weight: 1.015 kg (2 lb 4 oz)
DxO scores: 96 overall, 25.0 colour depth, 14.7 dynamic range and 4086 low light ISO
Pros
Eye Control AF
Highest available Raw frame rate
Excellent low-light performance
8.0 stops of image stabilization
Cons
Low sensor resolution
4,887 fewer focus points than the R5
No oversampled 4K video
No 8K video
The Canon EOS R3 came out in September 2021, and it targets the sports, wildlife and photojournalism segments of the market. CameraDecision ranks it #3 in Pro Mirrorless Cameras with an overall score of 97/100. Overall, the specs are outstanding, and the combination of Dual Pixel AF and Eye Control AF makes the autofocus system one of the best on the market…but it only has a 24MP sensor!
Body and Handling
I’ve never owned a Canon body, but they do have a reputation for ‘feeling good in the hand’. The layout is reminiscent of the EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR, but the mirrorless design and lack of a pentaprism mean it’s a bit smaller. The integrated grip still makes the R3 quite chunky and heavy, but the curves look comfortable, and I can understand the argument that you need a bigger body to balance a longer lens. It’s also weather-sealed, but that doesn’t mean it’s waterproof!
The three-dial design is standard for a Canon camera, letting you easily control the default options of shutter speed (time value) aperture and exposure compensation. These can also be customised to add ISO or change the assignments.
The infrared AF Smart Controller built into the AF-ON button is an optical sensor that lets you move the focus point quickly around the viewfinder—although it’s easier to use the joystick for fine adjustments.
The electronic viewfinder has 5760k dots with a 0.76x magnification, which is a little bit low. You also get Canon’s standard fully articulating screen, which is a big plus. The resolution of 4.15M dots (1440 x 960) is the best on the market.
There is a multi-function hot shoe that takes a flash gun and other accessories, including a microphone. The LP-E19 battery also works on the 1D X Mark III, which might come in handy, but it’s a shame that the card slots are a mixture of one CFexpress Type B slot and one UHS-II type SD. The Type B cards are the fastest on the market, so why bother pandering to cheapskates who want to use their existing SD cards…?!
Optics
The lack of resolution is the R3’s greatest weakness, but Canon claims this was a deliberate choice in order to allow pros to transmit images back to their news desks as fast as possible. Hmm…!
Having said that, the image quality is still very good, and if you can afford to match this body with a few of Canon’s L-series lenses, then you’ll achieve excellent image quality—even if you can’t crop in much any more…!
Autofocus
Autofocus is based on Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system, which splits every pixel in two in order to permit phase detection across the whole frame. That means you get 1,053 focus points. It also works well in low light levels, with a minimum focus sensitivity of -7.5 EV with an f/1.2 lens.
Most full-frame mirrorless cameras these days offer eye detection and tracking, and the R3 is no exception. It even has a vehicle tracking mode that’s not available on the R5.
It’s also the only Canon body to benefit from the new Eye Control AF option. This is a really intuitive way of positioning the focus point by simply looking at your subject. Canon first introduced this feature in the 1990s and later abandoned it, but this version really is astonishing. As Arthur C Clarke’s Third Law puts it, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic!” It’s true that the calibration doesn’t work for some users, so the inconsistency needs to be ironed out, but the potential is there for all to see.
Video
The video quality available with the R3 is excellent. The 4K footage is oversampled up to 60p, and if you want flexibility in post, you can even shoot Raw internally. The Raw Light Capture mode also gives you smaller file sizes than Canon Raw. At 120p, the footage is no longer oversampled, so you do get a slight reduction in quality and a little bit more noise.
Sadly, the video is let down by the inconsistency of the tap-to-track autofocus, and it’s disappointing that you can’t display levels or a histogram while shooting.
Canon has had overheating problems on the R5 and R6, but the R3 thankfully doesn’t suffer too much. The camera will shut down after around 10 minutes of shooting 4K/120p, but that’s the equivalent of an hour of slowed-down footage, so that’s not as bad as it sounds. If you drop down to 60p at either 4K or 6K, you won’t get an overheat warning for at least an hour.
Features
If, like Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder, you ‘feel the need for speed’, then the R3 might be the right camera for you. The stacked architecture of the new 24.1MP full-frame CMOS sensor helps improve the readout speed, and that leads to a shutter lag of only 20ms, zero rolling shutter, blackout-free shooting, a maximum frame rate of 30 fps and a world-record top shutter speed of 1/64,000 of a second! You also get a buffer of 150 14-bit Raw files with the electronic shutter, and that rises to a massive 1,000 shots with the mechanical shutter.
If we look at the whole list of features, the R3 has a number of advantages over the R5 (or R5 C):
Stacked Sensor
Zero Blackout Viewfinder
No Video Record Limit
Eye Control AF
Dual Processors
Max ISO: 102400 vs 51200
LCD Resolution: 4150k vs 2100k
Max Electronic Shutter Speed: 1/64000 vs 1/8000 of a second
Continuous Shooting: 30 fps vs 20 fps
Battery Life: 760 vs 320 shots
Dynamic Range: 14.7 vs 14.6
Low Light ISO: 4086 vs 3042
Sensor Pixel Area: 36.00 µm2 vs 19.30 µm2
Flash Sync Port
Illuminated Buttons
Multi Function/Interface Hotshoe
Minimum Focus Sensitivity: EV -7.5 vs EV -6
Vehicle Tracking AF
The R3 also shares a whole host of features with the R5:
Anti-dust Shutter Mechanism
Wireless Connection
Bluetooth Connection
Image Stabilization
Adjustable LCD Screen
External Flash Shoe
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
RAW Support
Face Detection Focus
Max Resolution
LCD Screen Size
Max Continuous Shooting
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Environmental Sealing
Timelapse Recording
Top LCD Display
AE Bracketing
Selfie/Vlogger Friendly LCD
Focus Bracketing
Storage Slot
Smartphone Remote
UHS Card Support
CFexpress Card Support
Webcam Function
Anti-flicker
Eye Tracking Focus
On the other hand, these are the areas where the R5 has the upper hand:
Sensor Resolution: 87% more pixels
Number of Focus Points: 4,887 more
Weight: 277 g lighter
Color Depth: 25.3 vs 25.0
Max Video Resolution: 8192 x 4320 vs 6000 x 3164
Canon EOS R5
Sensor: 45MP full-frame CMOS sensor
Raw frame rate: 20 fps
ISO 100 - 51200 (expands to 50 - 102400)
Eye tracking: Yes (human, animal and bird)
Video: 8K - 8192 x 4320 video resolution
Battery life: 320 shots
Weight: 738 g (1 lb 10 oz)
DxO scores: 95 overall, 25.3 colour depth, 14.6 dynamic range and 3042 low light ISO
Pros
Excellent image quality
Extensive video features
Fully articulating screen
8.0 stops of image stabilization
Cons
Overheats when shooting video
Complicated autofocus optimisation
Limited customisation
Raw noise reduction can’t be switched off
The Canon EOS R5 came out in July 2020, and it’s a capable camera for both professionals and enthusiasts interested in almost any type of photography. CameraDecision ranks it #7 in SLR-style Mirrorless Cameras with an overall score of 93/100. The overall specifications are impressive…but it doesn’t have Eye Control AF, and the frame rate is only 20 fps!
This review will try to focus on the main differences from the R3.
Body and Handling
Ironically, the R5 has a larger sensor but a smaller body than the R3, thanks to the absence of any integrated grip. This will suit some people but not others. I personally prefer the flexibility of having the grip as an optional accessory.
The R5 has Canon’s Fv 'Flexible Priority' mode, taken from the EOS R. It’s basically a Program mode, but you can choose one or two settings out of shutter speed (time value), aperture and ISO using the dial, and those will take priority.
The EVF is the same as on the R3, but the LCD has only half the resolution at 2100k dots. There’s not Eye Control AF, so you have to make do with using the joystick or the touchscreen to move the focus point around.
Optics
The R5 offers much better resolution than the R3, and you get plenty of detail in Raw images plus decent noise performance at higher ISOs.
If you like shooting JPEGs, you again get good detail at low ISOs and low noise at higher ISOs. However, the level of detail is a little lower than you get with other cameras on the market.
Autofocus
Autofocus is again based on Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system, and there are a massive 5,940 focus points. However, the low-light performance suffers from packing in so many pixels, and the R5 only has a minimum focus sensitivity of 6 EV with an f/1.2 lens. You also miss out on the R3’s vehicle tracking mode.
Video
The quality of video on the R5 is better than on the R3, but it does suffer from overheating—especially using the higher-quality video formats such as 8K. However, if you drop down to 4K/24p or 4K/30p, you won’t face the same problems.
You also get a long menu of features, including HDR PQ, C-Log and 10-bit 4:2:2 recording in all modes. The Dual Pixel AF works well in all formats, but Raw video capture is only available in 8k DCI mode.
Note that you need to use a CFexpress Type B card if you want to shoot in 8K or 4K/120p. For all other modes, an SD card will also work.
Features
The R5 obviously prizes resolution at the expense of speed, so the maximum frame rate tops out at only 20 fps. In other respects, the two cameras have different strengths and weaknesses. Here are the feature lists again…
If we look at the whole list of features, the R5 has a number of advantages over the R3:
On the other hand, these are the areas where the R5 has the upper hand:
Sensor Resolution: 87% more pixels
Number of Focus Points: 4,887 more
Weight: 277 g lighter
Color Depth: 25.3 vs 25.0
Max Video Resolution: 8192 x 4320 vs 6000 x 3164
The R5 also shares a whole host of features with the R3:
Anti-dust Shutter Mechanism
Wireless Connection
Bluetooth Connection
Image Stabilization
Adjustable LCD Screen
External Flash Shoe
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
RAW Support
Face Detection Focus
Max Resolution
LCD Screen Size
Max Continuous Shooting
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Environmental Sealing
Timelapse Recording
Top LCD Display
AE Bracketing
Selfie/Vlogger Friendly LCD
Focus Bracketing
Storage Slot
Smartphone Remote
UHS Card Support
CFexpress Card Support
Webcam Function
Anti-flicker
Eye Tracking Focus
On the other hand, this is where the R3 beats the R5:
Stacked Sensor
Zero Blackout Viewfinder
No Video Record Limit
Eye Control AF
Dual Processors
Max ISO: 102400 vs 51200
LCD Resolution: 4150k vs 2100k
Max Electronic Shutter Speed: 1/64000 vs 1/8000 of a second
Continuous Shooting: 30 fps vs 20 fps
Battery Life: 760 vs 320 shots
Dynamic Range: 14.7 vs 14.6
Low Light ISO: 4086 vs 3042
Sensor Pixel Area: 36.00 µm2 vs 19.30 µm2
Flash Sync Port
Illuminated Buttons
Multi Function/Interface Hotshoe
Minimum Focus Sensitivity: EV -7.5 vs EV -6
Vehicle Tracking AF
Canon EOS R5 C
Sensor: 45MP full-frame CMOS sensor
Raw frame rate: 20 fps
ISO 100 - 51200 (expands to 50 - 102400)
Eye tracking: Yes (human, animal and bird)
Video: 8K - 8192 x 4320 video resolution
Battery life: 320 shots
Weight: 738 g (1 lb 10 oz)
DxO scores: 95 overall, 25.3 colour depth, 14.6 dynamic range and 3042 low light ISO
Pros
Excellent image quality
Extensive video features
Fully articulating screen
8.0 stops of image stabilization
Cons
Overheats when shooting video
Complicated autofocus optimisation
Limited customisation
Raw noise reduction can’t be switched off
The Canon EOS R5 C came out in January 2022 in order to fix the overheating issue when shooting video. CameraDecision ranks it #17 in SLR-style Mirrorless Cameras with an overall score of 88/100. The overall specifications are similar…but it doesn’t have in-built image stabilization!
I won’t go over every aspect of this camera as it’s just a variant of the R5, but the main advantage of the R5 C is that you get unlimited video recording. This is down to the addition of an active cooling system. You also get a dedicated video/still switch and a flash sync port.
However, all that comes at the expense of a number of missing features:
Anti-dust Shutter Mechanism: None
In-built Image Stabilization: None
Number of Focus Points: 1053 vs 5940
Weight: 770g vs 738g
Verdict
So which is it to be? The R3 for its frame rate, the R5 for its resolution or the R5 C for unlimited video recording? The choice is yours…!
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